Glossary

Abandoned

An application is considered abandoned when an applicant does not respond to any of the requirements established in Law No. 19,039 within the time periods given in said Law.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are non-physical resources owned or obtained by a company.

Tangible assets

All material goods that can be perceived by the senses are considered tangible assets.

Confidentiality agreement

Contract regulating the legal conditions between a person divulging confidential information and another receiving it.

Trips

Agreement with minimal regulations allowing Members to provide greater protection to intellectual property if so desired. The agreement gives them the freedom to determine the appropriate method for applying the provisions of the agreement within the framework of their systems and legal uses.

Acquisition of know-how and disembodied technology

The acquisition of external technology in the form of patents, unpatented inventions, licenses, the disclosure of know-how, designs, trademarks, and patents, among others.

Acquisition of embodied technology

The acquisition of improved equipment and machinery driving technological innovation in products or processes already implemented in a company.

Industrial application

Requirement for the patentability of inventions and utility models stating that the subject of an application must be able to be reproduced or utilized in industry, understood in its broadest terms.

Intangible assets

An intangible asset is an asset that lacks physical or corporeal substance.

Bioinformatics

A field of knowledge dedicated to the building of databases on genomes, protein sequencing, and mathematical models of complex biological processes and systems biology.

Biotechnology

A collection of techniques using living organisms (or parts of organisms) to manufacture or modify products, improve plants or animals, or create microorganisms for specific uses.

State of the art search

Patent offices perform a search in order to determine the state of the art in a specific field and technical area that the invention belongs to.

Marginal annotation certificate

A marginal annotation is a text printed in the margins of the original document that indicates any change that the application or registration has gone through during its validity, such as: changes in representative, address changes of the titleholder, ownership transfers, etc. The marginal annotation certificate lists all these changes to the application or registration, as long as these have been communicated to INAPI by the titleholder or representative of the application or registration.

Registration certificate

This document certifies that the rights application in question has been granted. Certificates can be granted for commercial trademarks, invention patents, utility models, industrial designs and drawings, layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits, geographical indications, or appellations of origin.

Application certificate

This document certifies that the application in question is in process. Certificates can be granted for commercial trademarks, invention patents, utility models, industrial designs and drawings, layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits, geographical indications, or appellations of origin.

Transfer

A document through which an inventor grants the applicant the economic rights for the right in question. The filing of the transfer document is governed by the provisions of Article 14 of Law No. 19,039.

IPC - International Patent Classification

Hierarchical system where a technological field is divided into a series of sections, classes, subclasses, and groups. The IPC was created to allow for the uniform classification of patent documents on an international level. Its objective is to be an effective tool for searching patent documents, as well as to determine the novelty and inventiveness of technical information divulged in a patent application.

Integrated circuit

A product in its final or intermediate form, intended to perform an electronic function, in which at least one of the elements must be active, and some or all of the interconnections form an integral part of the body or surface of a part thereof.

Industrial designs classification

The International Classification for Industrial Designs and Models was established by the Locarno Agreement (8 October 1968) and its subsequent modifications.

Commercial trademarks classification

The International Classification for Goods and Services was established by the Nice Agreement (15 June 1957) and its subsequent modifications.

Utility models classification

The International Patent Classification was established by the Strasbourg Agreement (24 March 1971) and its subsequent modifications.

Nice Classification

Classification of Products and Services for the registration of trademarks, allowing the identification of the class or classes that the applicant wishes to apply to a registration. In other words, it corresponds to a list of products and services organized and sorted into different classes.

Invention patents classification

The International Patent Classification was established by the Strasbourg Agreement (24 March 1971) and its subsequent modifications.

Clusters

A grouping by sector of companies that perform the same or highly associated activities, both backwards with technology factories and providers of materials and equipment, as well as forwards and horizontally, with processing and user industries, services and other narrowly related activities with important and cumulative external economies, agglomeration and specialization, through the presence of producers and providers of specialized labor, and services related specifically to the sector. They can also perform group activities, in order to improve the collective efficiency of the cluster.

INID codes

International codes created to facilitate the identification of bibliographical data of a patent document (Internationally agreed Numbers for the Identification of (bibliographical) Data). These codes unambiguously connect a two-digit code with an item of bibliographical data, independently of the language the document is written in.

Commercialization

Commercialization is a collection of related activities that aid a company reach its goals. The main goal is to assure that the goods and/or services reach the consumer from the producer. Commercialization is done through different contractual mechanisms such as: Licensing, franchising, know-how, and sale and purchase. In all these cases, certain attributes of the asset rights are transferred.

Competitiveness

The capacity of a company (or country) to sustain and expand its participation in the market (or exports). The important part of competitiveness (and productivity) is not the size of the investment in research and development, but the capacity to frame technological developments in productive innovations within the strategy of a company (or country).

Paris Convention

Convention for the processing (at the moment of filing) of a patent, granting 12 months from the date of filing of the application to deposit the patent application in any other country in the Union. (Related to Article 34, Law No. 19,039)

Appellations of origin

Identifies a product as originating from a geographical area, attributing to it certain characteristics, quality, or reputation fundamentally linked to its geographical origin, while taking into consideration other factors (such as the human factor) that play a part in the characterization of the product.

Copyright

Copyright protects the expression of literary, artistic, and scientific works for a certain period of time, granted by the sole act of the work having been created. The protection awarded by copyright falls upon an indeterminate number of works, which include books, musical works, paintings, sculptures, films, computer programs, or software, without prejudice to the existence of other works protected by copyright.

Moral right

Certain measures that an author can take to preserve the personal link between them and their work. These rights are separate from the economic rights enjoyed by the author and are retained by them even in cases where economic rights have been ceded. Hence, moral rights are enjoyed exclusively by individual authors.

Economic right

Economic rights are one of the components of copyright, permitting an author to receive financial compensation for the use of their work by third parties. In virtue of these rights, the creators of a work have the right to prevent third parties from using it without consent or authorization.

Related rights

Related rights are rights related to copyright granted by the law to artists and performers in order to permit or prohibit the spread of their productions and receive compensation for the public use of the same, without prejudice to the rights granted to the author of the work.

Drawing

Graphical representation of an invention, including diagrams, flowcharts, and graphs. They should consist of a technical drawing in black, without any kind of label or frame.

Industrial drawing

Includes all arrangements, collections, or combinations of figures, lines, or colors developed on a two-dimensional plan for incorporation in an industrial product for the purpose of decoration and to give said product a new appearance.

Industrial design

Any three-dimensional form distinguished from similar products either by its form, geometrical shape or decoration, or a combination of these, insofar as those characteristics give it a special appearance perceptible to the eye in such a way that a new character results. To obtain an industrial design patent, it must be new, original, and have a characteristic shape.

Designs

Industrial designs and drawings are industrial property titles protecting aesthetic creations adding value to certain products.

Distinctiveness

Implies that the sign is capable of differentiating goods and services of one company from those of another. Distinctiveness thus means that a trademark is able to fulfill its role of identifying a product or service as originating from a specific company.

Extrinsic or concrete distinctiveness

Related to the existence of other prior similar or identical signs. The lack of extrinsic distinctiveness is among the relative causes for rejection.

Intrinsic or abstract distinctiveness

Refers to the capacity of a sign to distinguish goods or services from a certain company origin. The lack of intrinsic distinctiveness is among the absolute causes for rejection.

Safe disclosure

Whereby the applicant expressly indicates whether the invention has been disclosed prior to the filing of the application with INAPI, with regard to what is established in Article 42 of Law No.19,039.

Performer

Performers are titleholders of rights related to copyright and are considered intermediaries in the production, recording, or spread of works.

Entrepreneurship

Refers to the act of carrying out a venture, creating or building a work or a business. Ventures are usually projects carried out with effort and in the face of many difficulties, with the determination to reach a certain point.

Technical equivalent

Element or means carrying out the same function as one claimed in an invention, in the same fashion, and producing the same effect or result as stated in the claim.

Layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits

Layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits are a three-dimensional arrangement of elements forming an integrated circuit intended for manufacturing. The layout and order of elements follows the electronic function that the integrated circuit is intended to perform.

State of the art

Any knowledge made accessible to the public anywhere in the world, even if it is completely unknown in Chile, through a tangible publication, sale or commercialization, use, or any other method, before the filing date of an application or the claim to priority of an industrial right in Chile.

Preliminary examination

An first-instance examination where the formal requirements of an application for a patent or commercial trademark are evaluated, in order to verify whether the application fulfills the minimum requirements in order to be processed. In cases where the application has observations, these can be rectified by the applicant or their representative within the established time period. This does not require the support of a lawyer.

Examiner

Internal INAPI professional responsible for orienting and directing the work carried out by experts, in order to analyze the concepts assessed by them in the expert’s report and to confirm whether the criteria of the Patents Sub-department have been upheld.

Exploration

The administrative work performed both in offices and in the field, superficially and subterraneously, in order to locate, study, and evaluate a mineral deposit.

Slogan

Slogans are not defined in the Law on Industrial Property nor in its Regulations. Nevertheless, for instructive purposes, slogans refer to expressions attached to a commercial trademark and are intended, in principle, to promote a good by praising its qualities or attributing to it positive sentiments. These phrases should be filed solely as denominative marks and should not be included in a label.

Technological management

The application of management techniques to support technological innovation processes. It incorporates the principles and methods of management (administration), assessment, economy, engineering, information technology, and applied mathematics.

Information sheet

Form required to initiate the processing of an application for a patent, utility model, or industrial design, summarizing the basic information of an application: title, inventor, type of application, representative, etc.

Technical sheet

A form which in simple terms corresponds to the cover sheet or title page of the application. It contains administrative and technical background information on the application, such as a summary of the invention and a representative figure.

R&D

Research and development refers to the series of actions systematically performed in order to advance the frontier of knowledge and develop new applications.

R&D&i

Research, development, and innovation.

GI/AO

Geographical indications and appellations of origin (GI/AO) protect certain products characterized by originating from a certain geographical region or being produced in a way and using the techniques from a certain geographical region. In this sense, as industrial property titles, they are considered true distinctive signs of certain products.

INAPI

The National Institute of Industrial Property. Its mission is to contribute to the economic development of the country by stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity through the protection of industrial property and knowledge management, on the basis of processes ensuring efficacy, efficiency, quality, legality, and the access to and veracity of information.

Business incubators

A support center for those who wish to establish a business. Incubators are responsible for evaluating the technical, financial, and market viability of your entrepreneurial project, as well as provide comprehensive legal and administrative support services such as marketing and sales plans, physical space, equipment, logistics, and access to financing and seed money.

Geographical indications

A geographical indication is a sign used for products having a concrete geographical origin, possessing qualities or a reputation specifically derived from their place of origin. In general, a geographical indication consists of the placename of the products’ origin.

Expert’s report

A document prepared by an expert, reflecting the result of contrasting a patent application with the state of the art, in order to determine if the application fulfills the necessary requirements to be granted a patent.

Innovation

The creation or modification of a product or process and its introduction into the market, solving a problem in its technical field.

Performer

Performers are titleholders of rights related to copyright and are considered intermediaries in the production, recording, or spread of works.

Invention

A new solution to a technical problem in an industrial activity, as long as the solution is incorporated into a product or procedure. In order to obtain an invention patent, the invention must be new, have an inventive step, and have industrial applications.

Inventions with valid patents

Inventions whose patent is still protected within the national territory. To use it, the titleholder must give express authorization. The interested party should thus contact the invention’s creators and agree on licensing terms. The illicit use of an invention is subject to legal penalties in accordance to Article 52, title X of Law No. 19,039.

Law No. 19,039

Law establishing regulations regarding the protection of industrial property rights. Published in the Official Gazette on 25 January 1991.

Public domain inventions or innovations

Inventions or innovations whose protection granted by a patent is no longer valid due to causes established in the law. That is, that the period of validity has expired, or it has not been applied for in the national territory despite being valid in other countries, or it has been abandoned. In any case, whatever intellectual property is relinquished by its creator is considered public domain and can thus be used by anyone. We recommend always obtaining express authorization.

Inventor

The person or people who have developed an invention.

Applied research

Planned experimental or theoretical activity, whose goal is to generate new knowledge that leads to an advance in science and/or technology.

Basic research

Planned experimental or theoretical activity, whose goal is to generate new knowledge that leads to an advance in science and/or technology.

Technological research

Activity whose goal is to generate new technological knowledge that can be directly applied to the production and distribution of goods and services. It can lead to an invention, an innovation, or an improvement (smaller application). Technological research is not the only source of technological change.

Experimental research and development

Creative work carried out systematically, with an end to generate increased knowledge and using new knowledge to develop new applications.

Researchers

Professionals working in the research and creation of new knowledge, products, processes, and methods, and in the management of the respective projects.

IPCCAT

Patent categorization tool based on the IPC, which can be accessed through the SPTO website: http://cip.oepm.es/. It is designed mainly to classify patents on the subclass level.

Joint venture

Creating a joint company with an end to develop and exploit a new technology (normally legal entities or merchants).

Know-how

A form of technological transfer used recently in international commerce in order to refer to pre-existing, not always academical knowledge, including: techniques, secret information, theories, and even private data (such as that of clients and providers). Know-how provides exclusivity in using and maintaining industrial property of a process or object. In this way, it is used as a great competitive advantage in order to add value to a product. It is important to consider that the process in question must be novel and distinct.

License

Contract by which a titleholder of a right authorizes a third party to exploit an industrial property for a certain time, possibly in exchange for royalties.

Commercial trademark or patent license

A permit or entitlement granted by the owner of a registered trademark or patent to a third party. The latter may use the registration under the conditions established by the licensing contract that the parties enter into.

Exclusive license

A single licensee has the right to use the patented technology. No other parties may use it, including the titleholder of the patent.

Non-exclusive license

Several licensees, including the titleholder of the patent, have the right to use the patented technology.

Involuntary license

The authorization granted by a competent authority to a third party for the use of an invention without or against the titleholder’s consent, due to a monopoly abuse committed by the titleholder.

Sole license

A single licensee and the titleholder of the patent have the right to use the patented technology.

Licensing

Transfer of exploitation rights of intellectual and industrial property (technology).

Leaching

Process for obtaining copper from oxidized minerals, through dissolution with sulphuric acid and water.

Collective trademark

Distinctive sign able to be represented graphically, to be used in order to distinguish the origin, material, manufacturing procedure, or other common characteristic of a good or service, produced and/or provided by the members of an association.

Commercial trademark

Any visible, novel, and characteristic sign allowing products, services, or commercial or industrial establishments to be distinguished from others. They include pseudonyms, words, arbitrary or fanciful expressions, combinations of colors, drawings, labels, or a combination of these elements, as well as slogans. The latter are only protected if they are associated with or attached to an already registered trademark for the product, service, or commercial or industrial establishment they are intended for, necessarily containing the registered trademark that is to be marketed.

Certification mark

Distinctive sign signifying that a product or service fulfills certain pre-established standards and has been certified by a certification authority.

Denominative trademark

One or more words, with or without meaning, and/or a combination of letters and/or numbers. According to Article 19 of the Law on Industrial Property, denominative trademarks can include the following elements: names of people, letters, numbers, and words. Denominative trademarks, as opposed to mixed trademarks, may not include elements such as: The color of letters, stylized characters, upper or lower case letters used, punctuation, or exclamation marks.

Figurative mark

Figurative marks are labels with figures, images, symbols, or drawings.

Commercial establishment trademark

Commercial establishment trademarks are expressions meant to protect the name of a certain company selling certain products. Commercial establishment trademarks are intended more to protect sales activities rather than the products being sold.

Industrial establishment trademark

Industrial establishment trademarks are expressions meant to protect the name of a certain company that produces certain goods. Commercial establishment trademarks, as opposed to other types of trademarks, are intended to protect the activity of manufacturing, rather than the name of the products being produced.

Sound trademark

Sound trademarks are sounds that make it possible to distinguish a certain company origin and that can be registered as commercial trademarks.

Mixed trademark

Mixed trademarks are labels with one or more words, with or without meaning, and/or a combination of letters and/or numbers, in combination with figures, pictures, symbols, or drawings. Article 19 states that signs can also consist of a combination of signs made up of both denominative and figurative marks.

Trademarks

A commercial trademark is any visible, novel, and characteristic sign allowing products, services, or commercial or industrial establishments to be distinguished from others. They include pseudonyms, words, arbitrary or fanciful expressions, combinations of colors, drawings, labels, or a combination of these elements, as well as slogans. The latter are only protected if they are associated with or attached to an already registered trademark for the product, service, or commercial or industrial establishment they are intended for, necessarily containing the registered trademark that is to be marketed.

Product trademarks

Signs able to be represented graphically capable of distinguishing products in the market, so that consumers can differentiate between similar or identical products existing in the market.

Service Trademarks

Signs able to be represented graphically capable of distinguishing services in the market, so that consumers can differentiate between similar or identical services existing in the market. That is to say, they are signs showing that a service is provided by a certain company.

Denominative trademark

One or more words, with or without meaning, and/or a combination of letters and/or numbers.

Well-known or renowned marks

Internationally or globally known trademarks. One of the characteristics of well-known and renowned trademarks is that they are an exception to the trademark specialty principle, in that these trademarks can induce error or confusion among consumers between products and services of different scopes, without prejudice to the specialty principle.

Figurative mark

Figurative marks are labels with figures, pictures, symbols, or drawings. According to Article 19 of the Law on Industrial Property, lebels can include the following elements: pictures, graphs, symbols, and combinations of colors.

An image is essential when processing an application for the trademark, and it is the duty of the applicant to include it in the manner that the applicant wishes to register it.

Mixed trademark-

Mixed trademarks are labels with one or more words, with or without meaning, and/or a combination of letters and/or numbers, in combination with figures, pictures, symbols, or drawings.

Renowned marks

Renowned marks are known by a large percentage of consumers. The trademark must be well-known within national borders, independently if it is registered there or not.

Specification

Document through which an applicant for an industrial describes their invention, utility model, or industrial design clearly and in a detailed fashion, as well as the state of the art surrounding said right. It should be written on white legal-sized or A4 sheets. It should contain the sections described in Article 43 of the Regulations under Law No. 19,039.

Utility models

A creation intended to provide a new configuration or three-dimensional form to a known object or part of a known object used in practical work, as long as the new configuration allows the object to reach a higher level of success in the function for which it is destined. In order to obtain a utility model patent, it must be new and have industrial applications.

Problem and Solution Approach

A tool for testing the level of inventiveness proposed as standard methodology for evaluating this patentability requirement, with some of its elements or steps adapted to the current practice of INAPI.

Plant World

A plant variety is a group of plants from a single botanical taxon, that is, the distinguishing element of the lowest known rank that, independently if it fulfills the conditions for being granted a breeder’s right, can: 1. Be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a certain genotype or combination of genotype. 2. Be distinguished from any other group of plants by the expression of at least one of said characteristics. 3. Be considered a unit, taking into account its ability to propagate without modifications.

Nanotechnology

The study, design, creation, synthesis, manipulation, and application of functional materials and matter control systems on a nanometer scale (a thousandth of a millionth of a meter), or technologies on the scale of the length of a small molecule. On this scale, matter has different properties that can be used to develop new technologies, offering solutions to a wide variety of current problems in industry, medical research, and the environment.

Inventive step

A requirement of patentability for inventions stating that the result of the creative process should not be obvious in the state of the art to a person well-versed in the subject, or obviously derived from the state of the art.

Not filed

An application is considered not to have been filed when an applicant does not respond to any of the observations made in the preliminary examination within the time periods given in Law No. 19,039. An application being rejected in this manner loses the date of first filing (priority).

Domain names

Domain names are easily rememberable Internet addresses usually used to identify websites. For example, the domain name inapi.cl is used to locate the INAPI website in Chile, www.inapi.cl. Domain names also form the basis of other Internet applications or protocols, such as file transfers and e-mail addresses.

Domain names serve as the first mechanism of protection of an idea, product, or service, and can be processed prior to obtaining a specific trademark.

Notifications

A notification is the act of making a decision known to the interested party or to third parties.

Novelty

A requirement for patentability of inventions, utility models, and industrial designs, stating that the subject of an application does not already exist, has not been divulged, or has not been made accessible to the public through any means of dissemination or information anywhere in the world prior to the date of filing the application with INAPI or the priority date.

Application number

Number assigned by INAPI when a trademark begins the application process.

WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized United Nations body. Its mission statement is to develop an international intellectual property system that is fair and accessible, that rewards creativity and stimulated innovation, and that contributes to economic development, while at the same time safeguarding public interest.

Opposition

Administrative action whereby a third party files objections to a patent or commercial trademark application due to it having an impact on their interests. Filing an opposition record, as well as contesting one, must be done through an authorized lawyer.

Originality

A requirement for the patentability of industrial designs, stating that the subject of an application must be a direct creation of its author, without trace of imitation, that is to say, that it is the fruit of a spontaneous creation and not a copy. An industrial design is not considered original if it combines or integrates two or more parts of well-known products or objects.

Keyword

Keywords are specific terms or words describing the primary focus of an invention.

Word or denomination

Option used to apply for denominative trademarks, that is, one or more words, with or without meaning, and/or a combination of letters or numbers.

Patent

A patent is a right of exclusivity granted by the State in order to protect and exploit an invention for a period of time determined by law.

Public domain patent

Patent registrations whose period of validity has expired.

Patents

A patent is a right of exclusivity granted by the State in order to protect and exploit and invention for a period of time determined by law.

Invention patents

Invention patents are any solution to a technical problem arising from an industrial endeavor. An invention can be a product or process, or related to these.

Valid patents

Patent registrations granted by INAPI fulfilling the requirements for being awarded an industrial property right.

Intellectual Property

This term refers to the protection of the product of human intellect, whether in the scientific, literary, artistic, or industrial fields. This protection grants creators, authors, and inventors a temporary right to exclude third parties from appropriating the works or knowledge created by them.

PCT

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Its main objective is to simplify and make more effective and economical (from the point of view of users of the patent system and administrative offices) the procedure for applying for patent protection for an invention in several countries.

Legal entity

Commercial companies, foundations and corporations, government agencies, municipalities, universities, inheritances, trade associations, and indigenous communities and associations.

Natural person

Individual applicant, or two or more applicants in a group.

Claims sheet

A group of ordered and linked statements defining the subject matter of the invention to be protected. They shall be preceded by an Arabic numeral and shall be as many as necessary to define and delimit the invention properly.

Power

A document whereby an applicant designates a representative to act in their stead before INAPI or another institution, whatever the case may be, and the powers that the representative is vested with.

Government policies

Refers to the level to which government policies have as a goal to support the growth of new companies and to be neutral regarding the functioning of already established companies.

Specialty Principle

One of the basic principles of trademark rights is the specialty principle, stating that exclusivity in the use of a commercial trademark only applies to the specific products or services covered by the trademark. The trademark specialty principle is the external limit of trademark protection.

The above is established in Article 31 of the Regulations under Law 19,039, which states that “[t]he mark shall confer upon its holder the exclusive and exclusionary right to use it in trade in the form in which it has been granted and to distinguish the products ...”.

Priority

The precedent that an applicant has when filing an application for an industrial right, granted by having previously applied for it in Chile or abroad. Priority claims are a right that ensures that whoever has filed an application for a right abroad is able to file it in Chile as well, within the time period established by the Law or international treaties.

Phonogram producer

Phonogram producers are titleholders of rights related to copyright and are considered intermediaries in the production, recording, or spread of works.

Industrial Property

This term mainly encompasses creations associated with a commercial purpose. In accordance with Law No. 19,039, the different industrial property rights are invention patents, utility models, industrial designs and drawings, layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits, commercial trademarks, geographical indications, and appellations of origin.

Technological prospects

The assessment of the possible future evolution of the technological dimension of a certain embodied or disembodied technology, product, process, equipment, or service.

Publication

Administrative action whereby the patent or commercial trademark application is notified to the public through the publication of a representative title in the Official Gazette.

Royalties

Recurring payment or compensation that a licensee owes the titleholder of an industrial privilege in exchange for a license granted for the use of an industrial property right.

Internet registrations

Internet registrations function separately from intellectual property registrations. Nevertheless, the prior registration of a trademark constitutes a precedence for Internet registration offices in the case of claims.

Regulations under Law No. 19,039

Supreme Decree establishing the regulations for the application of Law No. 19,039 on Industrial Property. Published in the Official Gazette on 30 September 1991.

Dependent claim

A claim that contains the characteristics of another claim, specifying the details or alternatives in addition to those for which protection is applied.

Multiple dependent claim

A claim referring to more than one prior claim.

Independent claim

A claim of the same category (product, procedure, or device), used if the subject of an application or the unity of invention cannot be adequately covered by a single claim.

Claim or clause

The formulation and definition of what is ultimately to be protected by an invention patent or utility model. Its structure is as follows: clause number; preamble; the phrase “characterized by”; and the characterization.

Trademark renewal

A registered trademark is valid for 10 years, counting from the date of registration (understood as the date of payment of final duties). If the registration titleholder wishes to renew its period of validity, he or she must apply for renewal. This process is done in accordance with the regulations governing the registration and through the respective forms. A renewal entails filing the respective form and, once the renewal has been accepted by INAPI, paying a predetermined fee. The registration cannot be altered in any way while renewing it; the same titleholder, trademark, and scope must be applied for.

Representative

Individual designated by the applicant given the proper authority to carry out the processing of an application before INAPI.

Substantive examination

Administrative action corresponding to the final review of the application prior to the registration being granted. In this step, administrative and formal details are reviewed and the application is organized.

Secret

Any knowledge about industrial products or processes, whose possession grants its owner an improvement, advancement, or competitive advantage, is considered an industrial secret.

Industrial secret

Any knowledge about industrial products or processes, whose possession grants its owner an improvement, advancement, or competitive advantage, is considered an industrial secret.

Applicant

The person or people, company or companies, or institution(s) applying to be granted a right by the Chilean State. The entity or entities who enter into the application process will later be considered proprietor(s) of the trademark or patent.

Patent application

This application allows the applicant to obtain an exclusive right granted by the State for the protection of an invention, utility model, or industrial design. The effects, obligations, and limitations of a patent are established by Law No. 19,039 on Industrial Property. The title of the invention should be brief, clear, and precise, in such a way that any person well-versed in the field can form an idea of the technical problem it solves and the way in which it solves it. Under no circumstances will fanciful words that do not have a clearly established meaning in the respective field or speciality be accepted as titles.

Product application

Filed in order to distinguish a certain tangible article or product of any nature.

Service application

Filed in order to distinguish a certain intangible service provided to a third party, of a wide variety of natures (coaching, construction, consultancy, etc.)

Commercial establishment application

Filed in order to distinguish a certain location (establishment) in which one or more products are sold. Filing a registration for a commercial establishment only grants protection for the sign placed on said establishment and NOT the products sold in said establishment or location. The protection granted by the Law to said commercial establishment is purely regional, for which reason they should be filed by region. The application must specify the products and the classes to which they belong, as well as the region or regions where the registration is to apply.

Industrial establishment application

Filed in order to distinguish what is commonly known as a factory, where certain products of a varied nature are produced. These should be specified in the application according to the respective classifications of the products. Unlike a commercial establishment, the scope of protection granted by the Law to an industrial establishment is national, not regional.

Slogan application

A slogan is intended to highlight a certain quality or characteristic of an already registered trademark, whether for a product, service, or commercial or industrial establishment. In order to be granted this type of registration, it is necessary to already possess or be the titleholder of an already registered trademark. The slogan should be registered in the same class and with the same scope as the registered trademark. The slogan CANNOT be associated with several different registrations, but only with one.

Scientific theory

Knowledge related to a science and considered speculative, independent of any application.

Territoriality

Industrial property rights are territorial. This means that the titleholder will only enjoy protection and the rights conferred by this protection in the countries or regions where the protection was obtained. In other words, if a patent, trademark, geographical indication, or appellation of origin has not been granted in a certain country, these will not be protected in this country, allowing any other person to manufacture, use, import, or sell the invention in said country.

R&D transfer

Refers to the degree to which research and development creates new commercial opportunities and whether these are accessible to new, small, or growing companies.

Partial transfer

The application used when the titleholder of a trademark wishes to partially sell or transfer it to a third party. As opposed to a total transfer, the scope of the registration can be broken up or divided. The registration for the same trademark will thus be held by two different titleholders. If a registration only contains products of a single class within its scope, the owner of said registration CANNOT partially transfer said class. Nevertheless, with respect to commercial establishments, the registration can be partially transferred if this involves the establishments doing business in different regions. When transferring a registration, slogans attached to said registration should also be transferred, as slogans cannot exist independently.

Technology transfer

Technology transfer is a series of processes intended for the sharing of ideas, knowledge, technology, and skills with another individual or institution (e.g. a company, university, or government agency) and for the acquisition on behalf of the other party of said ideas, knowledge, technology, and skills.

Total transfer

The application used when the titleholder of a registered trademark or patent wishes to sell or transfer (such as through inheritance) it to a third party. In the case of trademarks, the transfer application encompasses a single registration. It is NOT possible to transfer several registrations with the same application. The scope of the registration, whether for products, services, or commercial or industrial establishments, is totally transferred. It is NOT possible in this case to break it down or divide any of its parts.

Transgenic

Genetically modified organism.

Arbitral Tribunal

The special tribunal established in Article 17 of the Law.

Unity of Invention

Concept referring to the fact that while a single patent application can contain multiple independent claims, these should all be united under a single common, inventive idea.

Plant varieties

A plant variety is a group of plants from a single botanical taxon, that is, the distinguishing element of the lowest known rank that, independently if it fulfills the conditions for being granted a breeder’s right, can: 1. Be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a certain genotype or combination of genotype. 2. Be distinguished from any other group of plants by the expression of at least one of said characteristics. 3. Be considered a unit, taking into account its ability to propagate without modifications.

Technology Watch

Technology Watch is a systematic form for capturing and analyzing scientific and technological information, serving as support for decision-making processes. Technology Watch can be used to find essential sources of information for making technological decisions, capture relevant information on technological trends, news, inventions, potential partners or competitors, emerging technological applications, while considering aspects pertaining to regulation and the market that can restrict the success of a technological innovation. Codifying and analyzing all this information allows a decisionmaker, whether in a company or scientific institute, the possibility to draw up plans and formulate technological strategies, minimizing uncertainty.